AFP: 2/21/2005
BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (AFP) - European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana hailed a keynote speech by US President George W. Bush Monday designed to reach out to Europe as "very, very positive."

"What we have read in the speech is very, very positive, that the music is very, very good and that the content is also very good," Solana told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

"When you see the agenda that he has dealt with, and you read it carefully, you see that a lot of the things he has said there belong very much to what we have been saying, in particular in (regard to) the Middle East," he added.

Kicking off a rift-mending European tour in Brussels, Bush called for a new era in transatlantic ties, as well as action to promote the Middle East peace process and greater democracy in Russia.

Bush is to attend Tuesday summits with both EU and NATO leaders during his high-profile visit here.

"The meeting of tomorrow will no doubt be a very, very important meeting, and we're looking forward to it," Solana said.

He also stressed the importance of a decision by EU foreign ministers to launch a training programme for about 770 Iraqi judges, investigative magistrates, police and prison officials, which he saw as sending a strong sign to the United States at the EU-US summit on Tuesday.

"We have the first action (towards Iraq) that is really united of the European Union. That without a doubt is going to be very, very important for the meeting that we are going to have tomorrow with President Bush," he said.
 

02/21/2005 18:37 GMT - AF